31 May, 2015
Israel to demolish 14 Palestinian-owned homes in Jordan Valley
JERICHO May 28, 2015 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities Thursday handed several Palestinian residents eviction and demolition notices of their 14 homes, located in two Palestinian towns in the Jordan Valley area, according to local sources.
Israeli forces handed several Palestinians notices notifying them of their intent to demolish their 14 homes. The order gave the owners three days to evacuate the homes.
In the Jordan Valley’s village of al-Fasayil, the houses that received demolition notices belonged to Ibrahim Salem, AlI, Dawood, Ahmad, Ibrahim, and Yousif Ebaidat, Ali Hassan, Aziz Suliman, Suliman Sawarka, Dawoud Ebaidat, Ibrahim Ebayat,Yousef Nawawra, and Mahmoud Abu Kharbish.
Meanwhile in Al-Jiftlik village, Mahmoud Edis , Rasheed Morshed ,Omar Abu Razqa and Mut’eb Atawna, received similar notices.
Mayor of the Jordan valley, Majid al-Ftyani, considered this Israeli measure as a continuation of Israel’s displacement policy practiced against the Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley.
The Jordan Valley is part of Area C of the West Bank, under complete Israeli control, where Israel rarely issues construction permits for Palestinians, prompting them to embark on construction without the legal construction permits.
The Israeli army and police have repeatedly vandalized residencies in the Jordan valley under the pretext of construction without permission.
Israel has heavily invested in transferring the Jordan Valley into a completely Israeli area, primarily in agriculture, to ban territorial contiguity between a future Palestinian state and the rest of the Arab world.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA said Israel demolished 390 Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan valley in 2013, up from 172 the year before. Some 590 Palestinians were displaced last year, compared to 279 in 2012.
“Israel destroyed 590 Palestinian buildings in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2014, displacing 1,177 people, according to a new study by OCHA.
It said that in three days, from 20 – 22 January 2014, 77 Palestinians, over half of whom were children, became homeless as a result to these demolitions.
It said that, “Israel’s extrajudicial demolitions continue into 2015. In January alone, Israel destroyed 77 buildings belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank, leaving 110 people, roughly half of whom were children, homeless in the cold of the winter.”
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley argued the demolitions violate international law. “Demolitions that result in forced evictions and displacement run counter to Israel’s obligations under international law and create unnecessary suffering and tension,” he said. “They must stop immediately.”
OCHA wrote in an official statement that, “The planning policies applied by Israel in Area C and East Jerusalem discriminate against Palestinians, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits.”
“As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met,” it added.
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